Amazon Machine Images (AMI)

An Amazon Machine Image (AMI) provides the information required to launch an instance, which is a virtual server in the cloud.
You specify an AMI when you launch an instance, and you can launch as many instances from the AMI as you need.
You can also launch instances from as many different AMIs as you need.

An AMI includes the following:

A template for the root volume for the instance (for example, an operating system, an application server, and
applications)

Launch permissions that control which AWS accounts can use the AMI to launch instances

A block device mapping that specifies the volumes to attach to the instance when it's launched

Using an AMI

The following diagram summarizes the AMI lifecycle. After you create and register an AMI,
you can use it to launch new instances. (You can also launch instances from an AMI if the AMI owner
grants you launch permissions.) You can copy an AMI to the same region or to different regions.
When you are finished launching instance from an AMI, you can deregister the AMI.

You can search for an AMI that meets the criteria for your instance. You can
search for AMIs provided by AWS or AMIs provided by the community.
For more information, see AMI Types and
Finding a Linux AMI.

When you are connected to an instance, you can use it just like you use any other server.
For information about launching, connecting, and using your instance, see
Amazon EC2 Instances.

Creating Your Own AMI

You can customize the instance that you launch from a public AMI and then save that configuration
as a custom AMI for your own use.
Instances that you launch from your AMI use all the customizations that you've made.

The root storage device of the instance determines the process you follow
to create an AMI. The root volume of an instance is either an Amazon EBS volume or
an instance store volume. For information, see Amazon EC2 Root Device Volume.

Buying, Sharing, and Selling AMIs

After you create an AMI, you can keep it private so that only you can use it, or
you can share it with a specified list of AWS accounts. You can also make your custom
AMI public so that the community can use it. Building a safe, secure, usable AMI for
public consumption is a fairly straightforward process, if you follow a few simple
guidelines. For information about how to create and use shared AMIs, see Shared AMIs.

You can purchase an AMIs from a third party, including AMIs
that come with service contracts from organizations such as Red Hat. You can also create an AMI
and sell it to other Amazon EC2 users. For more information about buying or selling AMIs, see
Paid AMIs.

Deregistering Your AMI

You can deregister an AMI when you have finished with it. After you deregister an AMI, you can't use it to launch new instances.
For more information, see Deregistering Your AMI.

Amazon Linux

The Amazon Linux AMI is a supported and maintained Linux image provided by AWS. The following
are some of the features of Amazon Linux:

A stable, secure, and high-performance execution environment for applications running on
Amazon EC2.